Italy/Greece 2023 – Day 0: Leave for Rome (September 1, 2023)

Trip: Rome and Cruise through Italy and Greece (Norwegian Breakaway)
Dates: September 1 – 15, 2023
Who: Me (Jess), Emily (one of my best friends), Beverly (my mom), Jeff (my stepdad), Jen (my aunt), and Megan (my sister).

After dreaming of going to Italy and Greece most of my life, the day arrived that I would be embarking on a journey to both! First, however, I had a few things to do. In an attempt to save a vacation day, I actually decided to go to work!

I made sure that I was COMPLETELY packed before going to bed. Mom and Jen spent the night in Orlando, as Jen/Megan’s flight was super early. Jen had only flown once before in her life (a short puddle-jumper) over 25 years ago and was pretty stressed about the endeavor. Mom stayed with her to drive her to the airport and help her get checked in. Megan was going to meet them at the airport and would help Jen get through security. Mom was able to go back to the hotel and get a bit more sleep before checking out.

Meanwhile, I woke up at 5am, showered, dressed, and got all my stuff ready to go. I was at work by 6:30am, tying up a few loose ends. Thankfully, I had really planned out my vacation prep and really had everything done. It was just some extra housekeeping. While I was working, we got our first text from the early flight duo. They were drinking wine on their way to Montreal, lol.

Around 9:30am, I closed up shop, wished everyone a great two weeks, and headed out! I loaded everything into Jeff’s truck and left just before 10:30am for the airport. We got to MCO, where Mom was waiting for us. There was already a crazy line at the AirCanada desk and no one was working it. It took a bit before staff showed up and started checking in. Jeff had dropped me and his bags off, so Mom needed to wait for him. I got checked in and my bag dropped off. About that time, Emily’s dad had her at the airport. She, Mom, and Jeff got in line to check in and bag drop. We all went through security and decided to grab a meal-meal at Bahama Breeze. This would be a vital decision. Megan and Jen had settled into their loooonnnnngggg layover and sent us a photo of their lunch. They also had gotten pedicures earlier, lol.

After lunch, we found our gate and chilled. Emily and I both heard our names on the loudspeaker. After going to the gate desk, I quickly saw why there was no one at the check in desk….. they were the same team that was boarding, lol. I’ve seen this at smaller, regional airports, but NEVER at such a large airport. Anyway, because we seemed like we were traveling alone, we were both being asked to switch seats so families could sit together. I’d paid extra for legroom, etc and asked if the seat was comparable. They said yes. I accepted and upon boarding learned they lied. It was definitely not an upgraded seat.

Pretty much as soon as we took off, I fell asleep and stayed that way pretty much the entire 3 hour flight. We landed in Montreal and had to be held, waiting for another plane to leave the gate we were assigned. This is where NCL did not do very well in booking our flights. If you remember, we had a tight layover as it was. We already were wondering why they would have made it so short. By the time we were parked at the gate and started deplaning, we had 45 minutes before our next flight was to take off. Not start boarding. Take off. Jen and Megan were texting us our gate number and telling us that it was a hike.

I was the first off the plane, so I just started booking it. Emily was a bit behind me and Mom/Jeff were at the back of the plane. I got a text that our flight was starting to board, so I picked up speed, texting instructions to the other three as I went. Megan and Jen texted that they were going to go ahead and board…. they had been in the airport for 9 hours and had no intention of staying there, lol.

We had to RACE to our next gate (85 to 66)…. It was a mess. We had to clear customs and scan our pass ports twice. Also, signage and the airport staff were not super helpful. At one point, I took a picture and was like, “Get in THIS line!! Have your passport ready!”.

I finally saw that I was close to the gate and took the opportunity to run to the restroom really quickly. The text messages were flying between all of us. I got to the gate first and they were doing the final boarding call. I scanned in and told them there were a ton of people running from an Orlando flight. The gate agent said they were aware and they were trying to hold the flight as long as they could. Emily caught up with me on the gangway, but had no clue where Jeff/Mom were.

In retrospect, getting on the plane was hysterical. We headed to the back of the plane. All of us were separate (another bone of contention as we originally were all seated together), except for Mom and Jeff. I was 53K. Megan was calling me as I was walking through the plane. I got to my row and Megan was standing up even further back, pointing me out, and yelling, “Jen!! Jess is here!”

They admitted later that while they were concerned about all of us, they were most concerned about me because I had all the confirmations and plans, lol. I pointed back and said, “Emily is here, too!” They asked about Mom/Jeff and we said we didn’t know. Maybe you had to be there, but it was comical, because we were all over that back section of the plane.

I got seated. My roommates were a nice Italian man who spoke very little English and younger woman from California. I finally spotted Mom and, 5 minutes later, spotted Jeff. We were all on board!

We took off and the Captain let us know it was going to be a bumpy flight. I am fine with that, but knew Jen wasn’t going to be a fan. In the beginning of the flight, I watched “Love Again” with Priyank Chopra (very good). Dinner was a chicken dish that was not very good (I should have gone with the meatless pasta). I slept for about an hour and a half before waking up. I turned on “You’ve Got Mail” and then fell asleep about 30 minutes in, waking up towards the end.

The good news was that the AC was working MUCH better than my flight to London last year. I wasn’t necessarily getting a full night sleep, but I was able to get some solid chunks in there. I’ll leave off here and pick up on the last third of the flight…..

Italy/Greece 2023 Trip Report (September 1 – 15, 2023)
– The Beginning (Vivi Alla Giornata!)
– The Planning Process (Rome)
– The Planning Process (Greece Ports)
– The Planning Process (Italy Ports)
– Flight Confusion
– Day 0: Leave for Rome (September 1, 2023)
– Day 1: Rome Arrival and City Tour (September 2, 2023)
– Day 2: Board the Breakaway (September 3, 2023)
– Day 3: Sea Day (September 4, 2023)
– Day 4: Santorini, Greece (September 5, 2023)
– Day 5: Athens (Piraeus), Greece (September 6, 2023)
– Day 6: Mykonos, Greece (September 7, 2023)
– Day 7: Olympia (Katakolon), Greece (September 8, 2023)
– Day 8: Valletta, Malta (September 9, 2023)
– Day 9: Messina (Sicily), Italy (September 10, 2023)
– Day 10: Naples, Italy (September 11, 2023)
– Day 11: Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy (September 12, 2023)
– Day 12: Disembark and Vatican City (September 13, 2023)
– Day 13: Rome (September 14, 2023)
– Day 14: Leaving Rome (September 15, 2023) and Some Final Thoughts

Italy/Greece 2023 – Day 0: Leave for Rome (September 1, 2023)

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